My life and thoughts as a Pet Groomer

I thought I would share more about myself now while posting more about my salon and begin posting regular blogs on Natural Grooming and Wellness.

When I became a groomer, I knew there would be things I would have to work with that I did not want to see such as grooming neglect by owners, mange, fleas, ticks, and badly behaved dogs / cats. I never did fully prepare myself for the extremes. Since I work at a pet grooming salon cum school, you get all walks of life as clients. Some very good clients that cares deeply about their pets, some who want show standard cuts for cheaper prices, low income families who cannot afford professional salon prices, and the ones who just don't see the point of grooming as important; but will come once in a blue moon anyway. I find myself on almost a daily basis encountering problems that astounds me to the fact that I have the rare ability to handle it. Some of which I have seen people vomit over. I guess this is why I make a good profession as a pet groomer. But I often wonder if I would ever make a great vet or vet tech.

The reason I wonder is because I have seen some very bad cases of neglect or abuse in the grooming shop that could make some serious cases if we had a stronger legal system to protect animals. Dogs that come in with burns that should be treated with veterinary care, serious skin infections that scab and create holes in the skin, ears so badly infected that the animal is practically deaf, infected and ruptured anal glands, etc. What kills me is that when I do see these things, some of the owners will not treat the animal with veterinary care. Its a miracle that they are paying for a grooming, let alone a cheap grooming at a grooming school. As long as they provide food, water and shelter, there is little that can be done. Its these very issues that have led me to change my way of grooming. Now when I was out working the upscale salon environment, these cases were far and few if any, and the clients payed for services that isn't easily obtained at a average shop. More specialty skills such as handstripping, contour hand scissoring, and stylish cuts were performed.

Since you know some of these owners will not treat the animal at the vet, the groomer is about the only one that can provide any relief or hope to change external skin conditions of the dog. Hence, holistic dog grooming became my every day. Since I am not a vet or vet tech, I must be very careful as to not treat any animal, but I most definitely can change my products to work for me and not against the dog, and it works. Unfortunately, I can't help every dog as regular grooming is needed for changes to occur and not everyone will come on a regular basis.

My method of holistic grooming has seemed to show reversed signs of skin irritations, less prevalent skin allergies, infected ears, and even a better behaved dog on the table. I don't believe in the factory line of grooming and prefer to work one on one if possible. But even in a room full of loud dryers, barking dogs, and people walking by as is in a school environment, I believe that I have better learned how to have the pet I am working with plug in and connect with me as if we were the only ones there in the room. This is when I realized I had the gift to understand animals in a communicative way with intuition. But none of this is achieved without 2 major connections. Unconditional love must be present and felt, and secondly comes respect that naturally follows after love.

Now I am not saying I am a perfect groomer and my success rate is perfect. But honestly, I can say its pretty good. Yes I have been snapped at, growled at and bitten a few times. All were for different reasons under different situations which we can expand more on that in another time. Overall though, I do have the ability to work with most dogs that are not easily approachable by most groomers and that have been labeled "aggressive", "will bite" or "muzzle for nails". I feel each dog, like people, have a individual personality that must be addressed as such. What works for one, will not work for all. Some dogs will never get used to your way of touching as others have. To some dogs, its very invasive and private to them. Canine insecurities pop out of the woodwork when your hands touch every part of their body on the grooming table. Most groomers probably wouldn't believe dogs can feel that way. But nonetheless, new methods of approaching and grooming must be used.

I have met groomers that get stuck on what they know and when they get a dog that conflicts with what they know they force their will upon them to get the job done. I call this ignorance. I have also met groomers who knows nothing about health & nutrition or a fair little wee bit to educate customers to care for their pet in a natural, healthier way.

Groomers need to at least get a basic understanding of animal behavior in my opinion before they pass a grooming course. Not enough educational time is spent on this topic unless your training to become a dog trainer. What a lot of people don't always understand is that when you touch an animal, it must be done so with respect. If you play rough with a dog, expect them to reciprocate that action. If you have a gentle touch within your energy that flows with their body's life force your motives will be exposed and most likely you and your dog can arrange a happy compromise to get the work done.

It is my hope that through out my blogs and even my future company website you will get to know and learn the bits and pieces of my own energy that I use for the animals that brings such harmony on a grooming table. No matter what type of background the dog came from. The need for more self awareness of self to create your own energetic life force. But these things take time, I did not achieve to where I am today overnight. I read and study my little butt off, always wanting to learn more. I attend as many pet related seminars as I can grooming and non-grooming related. My schooling never stops, and I am always aiming for higher wisdom. My goal is to help as many animals and animal lovers as I can with the skills and knowledge I presently have. I don't know where I am going exactly in my animal career down the line, but it doesn't really matter as long as I keep doing what is important to me. That is helping others understand and acknowledge a spiritual bond between people and animals with a longevity of health and wellness. The more I keep learning myself now, the more animals I can help tomorrow.

At least right now I have helped quite a big number of pet owners using natural and holistic therapies on their pets and a lot of pets recover even though I am not a vet. This is which has given me the energy to move forward when the owner are happy and the pet is not frustrated anymore with their own conditions.